Honor Code

A student will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.

The Student Honor Code states that a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do. To violate the Honor Code, the accused student must have lied, cheated, stolen, attempted to do so, or tolerated such action on the part of another student. The honor offenses of lying, cheating and stealing involve acts accompanied by a specific intent to achieve a particular wrongful purpose as defined for each offense.

The Code is a minimum standard of ethical behavior for students, and is to be embraced by each student — an internal self-enforcement mechanism. Therefore, the Code is not constrained by any geographical boundaries — it travels with the student wherever he or she goes. Students are expected to live by the Code’s standard both at and away from Norwich, in their professional, military and personal lives.

Honor, as it should be understood by all Norwich students, is a fundamental attribute of character. Honor is a virtue which impels loyalty and courage, truthfulness and self respect, justice and generosity. Its underlying principle is truth. It is not a complicated system of ethics, but merely honest dealing and clean thinking. If a student is true in thought, word and deed, there is no question about his or her meeting the standards of the Corps. On the other hand, quibbling, evasive statements or the use of technicalities to conceal guilt cannot be tolerated under an Honor System at Norwich.

Students who commit an Honor Code Violation off campus may be charged with Bringing Discredit Upon the University. In addition, a student who is caught attempting to violate the Honor Code but does not actually commit the violation, will be charged with the violation.